Sunday, October 6, 2013

Brett meets Mikhailov

Selected rules governing Major League Baseball and photography in the old Soviet Union, listed interchangeably:

It is forbidden to take photographs from higher than the second floor, the areas of railways, stations, military objects, at enterprises, near enterprises, at any organization, without special permission.

When there are fewer than two outs, and there is a force play at third base (i.e., when there are runners at first and second base, or the bases are loaded), if a fairfly ball is in play, and in the umpire's judgment it is catchable by an infielder with ordinary effort, the umpire shall call "infield fly"; the batter will be outregardless of whether the ball is actually caught in flight.

It is forbidden to take photos that bring into disrepute Soviet power and the Soviet way of life.

If the catcher drops or otherwise does not catch the pitched third strike, the batter can still be awarded first base if he can reach it before the catcher is able to either tag him or throw the ball to first base before he reaches it. While this is still a strikeout, it does not count as one of the three outs for that half inning. Thus a pitcher may record four or more strikeouts in one inning.

It is forbidden to depict any naked body. Only museums can display such pictures in (non-photographic) Old Master paintings.

Batters may apply pine tar only from the handle of the bat extending up for 18 inches.